CWMTILLERY NOT JUST THE LAKES AND RESERVOIR

Cwmtillery I feel has a lot more to offer than just the lakes and reservoir, with it's wooded and bracken hillsides, farmland and heather moorland. It's host to a wealth of birdlife and here's just a few of them.

Although obviously not all the birds of Cwmtillery are going to be in this blog, I think it's a fair reflection of the diversity that it has.

At the lake there are now established nesting Coot and Moorhen as well as the resident Mallards.

nesting coot

On the lake there's also been listed - Little Grebe, Tufted Duck, Canada Goose, Goosander, Heron, and the resident Dippers there's also been sightings of Dunlin and Common Sandpiper the list of birds grow ever larger. That is a wonder in itself with the lake being such a popular place for people to visit, especially with dog walking and other recreational activities going on making it a very busy place to live if your a bird. Besides all that there is a good number of passerine species in the trees and bushes that surround the lake as well as Grey Wagtails, Gulls and Corvids that all make the lakes their home.

goldfinch

male blackbird

As you walk up towards the reservoir you'll hear the calls of the Warblers and other small birds and up towards the farm you'll find Swallows swooping over the fields and House Sparrows chirping away in the farm buildings and surrounding bushes.

male house sparrow

swallow

There's also a very good chance that you'll see Pied Wagtails and Starlings in and around the buildings at the top of the reservoir.

pied wagtail

starling with juvenile

Sometimes there's birds on the reservoir but not as many as there should be. I think they're discouraged from being there by the fishermen as the reservoir is used by a licenced angling club. Cormorants use it and Kingfishers have been seen at the far end, although I've yet to see them.

cormorant

The marshy fields near the top end is a good place for Reed Bunting there's also a small pocket of Whinchat that's just about holding on. I've only seen one bird this year so haven't been able to photograph them.

female reed bunting

male reed bunting

male reed bunting

As you go up past the reservoir you come to a bit of an impasse you can either go up on to the road above which will lead you to the top of the Coity mountain (via hill 60) with it's rough heather moorland where Skylark, Meadow pipits, Red Grouse and the odd Merlin can be found and even sometimes in the autumn the odd Ring Tailed Harrier might pass through. There is a quarry just off the road with a sporadic covering of trees and bushes just below this is where the old purifying ponds are situated, there's been sightings of Ring Ouzel our only Summer migrant thrush but so far I haven't been lucky enough to catch up with them. When I was there Tree Pipits were singing loudly and calling - they're staking out their breeding territories.

tree pipit

Another option is to follow a path that will take you through some woods and around what we call the horseshoe bend where you then keep walking passed some bracken covered hillsides. You then walk into open woodland which brings you out onto some open grassland which eventually joins the road and takes you back down towards the lake. 

In the wood I was fortunate to see and photograph this Spotted Flycatcher it's a Summer visitor and is another species that's becoming a rarity. 

spotted flycatcher

spotted flycatcher

spotted flycatcher

Also whilst in the wood I got close enough to this male Redstart to grab an image.

male redstart

The wood was full of life with lot's of woodland species all singing and calling I captured this Wren and Long tailed tit on my walk along the path.

wren

long tailed tit

There's still good numbers of Wheatear up there in different areas, here's some pic's of this beautiful summer visitor.

a female wheatear

wheatear spring male

summer male

and another

and another

At the bracken covered hillsides there always good numbers of Stonechats you hear them before you see them with their clicking alarm calls which sounds like two stones being knocked together hence their name.

the handsome male Stonechat

There's a good number raptor species that's been recorded with the return of the Red Kite being most welcome.

soaring red kite

I've recorded Sparrowhawks, Kestrels, Merlins as well as Tawny and Barn owls and who is to say that there isn't any other birds of prey nesting up there that just haven't been found yet. 

Buzzards have been breeding there for as long as I can remember and they didn't let me down as this one soared above me allowing me to grab an image.

buzzard

I'll end this one by saying that we are blessed living in an area that has so much wildlife around us. Cwmtillery will always be close to my heart and is a jewel that should be cherished. If I had my way I'd make it into a national park though I doubt that will ever happen.